When we at ANP do prepping pieces, we try to focus on preparing for an event, whether it is a major weather event or prepping for a major catastrophe that will leave people without access to cash, grocery stores, or in a worst case scenario without electricity long-term, but it is in the comment section that readers can find tips and tricks, ideas, survival videos and links that cover a far wider range than just what the article is covering.
Another thing we have noted in our own comment section, as well as other forums, and discussions, is that readers will address topics that aren't often focused on, such as a lack of storage space discouraging some from stocking up on foods, water or other basic prepping items, or concerns over pain management in a world where one cannot take a trip to the dentist, among other insightful questions and concerns.
So, this article is going to be a little out of the box, rather than focusing on one set area of prepping, we have been noting those concerns, and researching in order to address those concerns.
FIRST AID & SURVIVAL AFTER SHTF
In one article there was an interesting discussion in the our comment section about tooth pain in a post-SHTF world. It was a good discussion, but it also brings up other medical emergencies that could occur and what people would do without the ability to rush to the doctor or emergency room, because they may not be around.
So, first, the tooth pain: While we are not medical professionals, we have found that high-dose garlic capsules do fight off a number of different types of infections, which is generally where the majority of pain comes from, but there are also ways to manage the pain and items that can be used to manually "fill" a cavity if a dentist is not an option.
For example Clove oil, which contains Eugenol, has been used in dentistry since the 19th century, and is often a go-to home remedy for toothaches. Clove oil contains ingredients that numb the point of contact, so a drop in a cavity, or rubbing a drop around a tooth or gum with effectively stop the pain temporarily. You can read more about it at Healthline, or Medical News Today or simply search "clove oil toothaches," and choose your own source.
Garlic to help fight the infection, clove oil to manage the pain, and last but not least on that front, how to fill up a cavity without a dentist. There are variety of products available that will act as a temporary filler, or to temporarily repair a cap or a crown, such as DenTeck Temparin, or Den Temp. Some brands even offer a kit which includes a small bottle of Eugenol, which is the ingredient in cloves that numb the painful area.
Tooth pain isn't the only issue because a number of other medical issues could, and probably will, occur if one cannot access medical professionals. A fracture, a cut deep enough to require stitches, dislocations, sprains, etc.....
Many of us use a Kindle or other forms of electronic readers, but without electricity, that battery is only going to last so long, so a physical book with information on how to handle medical issues like that, would probably come in very handy. I looked around and found quite a few.
One of which is "Mountaineering First Aid: A Guide to Accident Response and First Aid Care." According to the book description it meets the current standards of first aid care by the American Red Cross and the Wilderness Medical Society, provides updated figures and drawings that illustrate essential first aid skills, and includes quick-reference boxes that summarize recognition and treatment of many first-aid problems.
Another issue I noted when reading through the comments on some of our prepper pieces, is some that are discouraged from prepping for long-term because of a lack of storage space. While many can, and do, shove canned goods and water in the bottom of a closet, they don't have the space for the emergency food storage pails that can contain a 30-day supply of survival food.
For example, the one I just linked to above, comes in a seven gallon pail. Sure, those with limited storage space can take the pouches out of pail to save space, but there are also some ways to use the pails themselves, filled with food, creatively.
So I began to hunt and even using a number of different keyword searches, I had a hard time finding sites addressing this issue, which tells me more need to do so because people in apartments, or small homes, or condos in urban areas, generally do not have a lot of room to work with.
One idea I found was making them into furniture. Place two buckets, or four, two in front and two up against the back end of the others, and slapping a piece of glass, or wood on top, covering with a table cloth, and boom you have an night stand or an end table. Using four, on each side of your couch, is eight buckets, using the same space already used with your traditional end tables, meaning eight months of food for one person, or four months if two people live in the home.
Do the same with your night stands and you double that amount, without using any additional space.
For those that want to supplement canned goods in with their food prepping, quite a lot of cans can fit underneath a bed in a can rotator, or utilizing any unused space under furniture.
I am sure readers can offer more creative ways to store food in a home that has very limited storage space... so have at it in the comments!
BARTERING ITEMS AND TIPS, BUT WHO ARE YOU GOING TO BARTER WITH?
This is where preplanning and community comes in. Do you know any other preppers in your area? Store owners? The local butcher? No doubt there will be people that would need items that preppers and survivalists have stocked up on, but will they have anything you need?
Encouraging family, friends and neighbors to prep is always a good idea. First if they are stocking up on basic necessities, it is less likely they are going to end up on your doorstep to use all yours, but more importantly, better to have the people close to you to barter with, than to attempt to barter with outsiders and strangers. Operational Security (Op-Sec) alone, means you definitely don't want a bunch of strangers, trying to survive in the same type of situation as you, knowing what you do and do not have.
By getting even just a few of your friends, neighbors or family members into the prepping mindset means you have a ready community of prepared individuals to pool resources, barter with, set up a community defense plan.
There are also groups online like the Preppers Meetup, and American Preppers Network, but those should be used with caution, use a separate email account, never use your exact location, and never detail your full prepping history, until you have become comfortable with those you have met online, and perhaps met with publicly in a trafficked location in order to get to know people.
The point here is that when getting that "extra" or learning what the best bartering items are in a post-SHTF world, be asking yourself, "who am I going to barter with?" because dependent on the person or community, that will be important in knowing which items will get you the most out of your bartering supplies.
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